An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. Something brought about by a → cause or agent; a result.
   

2. A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon, such as the → Compton effect, → Coriolis effect, → Doppler effect, → diamond ring effect, → photoelectric effect, and so on.

Etymology (EN): From O.Fr. effect, from L. effectus “accomplishment, performance,” from stem of efficere “to work out, accomplish,” from → ex- “out” + facere “to do, to make,” from PIE base *dhe- “to put, to do;” cf. Mod.Pers. dâdan “to give,”
Mid.Pers. dâdan “to give,” O.Pers./Av. dā- “to give, grant, yield,” dadāiti “he gives;” Skt. dadáti “he gives,” Gk. didomi “I give,” tithenai “to put, set, place;” L. dare “to give, offer;” Rus. delat “to do;” O.H.G. tuon, Ger. tun, O.E. don “to do.”

Etymology (PE): Oskar, from os-, → ex-, + kar-, kardan “to do, make;” Mid.Pers. kardan; O.Pers./Av. kar- “to do, make, build,” Av. kərənaoiti “he makes;” cf. Skt. kr- “to do, to make,” krnoti “he makes, he does,” karoti “he makes, he does,” karma “act, deed;” PIE base k^wer- “to do, to make.”